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Post by Treijim on Apr 3, 2008 13:01:19 GMT 9.5
[Continued from A Strange Welcome]
After Eric had observed himself in a mirror, they had dinner and Eric was invited to sleep the night, which was spent on Cole's floor on a rug. Cole rose early and went out to see if there were any trade carts headed to North Tasif that day. There was one carrying goods to Serten that was okay if the two boys caught a ride. Within a couple of hours, they had eaten breakfast, and were sitting on the back of the cart.
The cart itself was a special one designed for carrying far more than horses can. It was basically a large and flat platform big enough for a dozen men to lie down on, raised above the ground via four large steel-braced wheels with a simple wooden shelter and palisade railing high enough for them to just look over. A number of large crates were lined along the floor with a walkway down the middle. Two men were attending the crates, and a driver sat at a seat at the front, holding the reins of a great waddling beast that pulled the entire cart with ease.
It was slower than a horse, but the beast that pulled the cart showed no signs of weariness and was not distracted by anything nearby. It simply walked ahead in a stern manner. Cole was silent as they rode.
"You boys headed to Serten?" one of the men asked as he tied one of the crates down.
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Post by Eric on Apr 3, 2008 14:16:13 GMT 9.5
Eric left Cole to talk to the man while he moved to the front of the cart and listened to the beast. He followed by making a series of low noises and waited. The beast took about five minutes to reply. Eric looked offended and sat down. "He call me annoying," Eric said angrily. He listened as the beast made a rumbling sound that he noticed as laughter. He grumbled back in the same language.
Eric looked up into the sky as a crow flew by. He made a couple cawing sounds and the bird wheeled and landed on his knee and looked at him curiously. Eric engaged in a number of sounds and a few gestures and the crow seemed to be listening. IT cawed once in response and took off. The savage boy looked to Cole. "She said she'll take a look ahead and see what's what. I want to know how the area's laid out."
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Post by Treijim on Apr 6, 2008 19:05:21 GMT 9.5
Cole looked up and shaded his eyes. "Yeah, something like that. Serten will do."
The man seemed pleased with this response so he left the conversation hanging.
The driver was sitting above and beside Eric, and he glanced down at the boy with an odd face.
"Annoying, eh?" the driver wheezed a laugh and nodded. "Yep, that's about how they'd describe anything else that breathes and eats. Orcanor mate, find grass, and then mate again. That's their goal in life. Anything else is annoying. I tell ya, lad -- that's the life... know what I mean?"
He didn't seem surprised at how Eric was talking to the animals, but he may have assumed Eric was just playing around. Orcanor tend to make strange noises no matter what they're doing. Cole watched intently as Eric proceeded to interact with a crow.
"Look around huh," Cole said, throwing his gaze off the side of the cart at the hills and mountains beyond.
"Your friend talk to animals or something?" asked the same man as before.
Cole looked up again, wishing the man would stop asking questions. He shrugged.
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Post by Eric on Apr 9, 2008 12:01:03 GMT 9.5
Eric watched his crow friend fly off then tuned into the conversation. Clothes only change the outward appearence, it did little to educate him in social ways. "Yeah I talk to other animals!" he said. "We're all children of Milya, the Earth Mother. Anyone can do it," he explained. "I wonder if that crow will come with us," he mused to himself.
He gazed around the cart at the men. The two crate handlers were quite fit from all the carrying and Eric sized them up, looking for weak points. They didn't seem aggressive, but he was making sure he was ready if they ended up being so. Beside him Cole was sitting with a somewhat flat expression that hid his emotions well. Eric had been wondering why Cole was so emotionless since he'd met him, but never voiced the observation. He did now though. "Cole? Why are you so... glum?"
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Post by Treijim on Apr 11, 2008 20:22:14 GMT 9.5
The man nodded forcefully, pretending to understand, but probably thinking Eric had a few screws loose.
Cole didn't respond for a minute. He was watching the white clouds that clung to the mountaintops, seemingly bemused by the whole scene, though he'd undoubtedly seen it many times before.
"I'm not glum," he finally said. "I'm just not smiling." He turned his head to look at Eric a little, his eyes shining in the shade of his fringe. "That's okay with you, isn't it?"
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It was probably a fair few hours before the sun began to fall again. They had had a snack from the food on the cart and Cole had gone back to sitting in the same place.
"We're nearing Xuben Pass," said the driver. "We should rest there for the night. Going over the bridge in the darkness is dangerous..."
So the men set up the cart as a sort of makeshift shelter. They put stoppers in the wheels and unchained the beast so it could graze, and large wooden platforms were taken from under the cart and placed on special posts on top, turning the whole thing into a sort of wooden room.
"Sleep wherever you're comfortable, boys," the man said. "Even outside, if you don't mind the cold."
Cole went outside without hesitation and curled up in deep grass at the foot of a stone pillar.
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Post by Eric on Apr 13, 2008 10:33:39 GMT 9.5
Eric followed Cole out of the shelter, but went over to the Orcanor. He was told to shoo before he even got to say anything. "Grumpy guss" he grumbled as he made his way over to Cole. Before he could say anything to the older boy, the crow from earlier came down and alighted on his shoulder. He spoke with it for a few moments than it spread its wings and flew off. "She says the way to the next town is clear." He sat down next to Cole and looked at his hair, distracted a little by the odd colour. He'd never seen anything except flowers with purple on them.
"Cole?" he asked. "Do you not like people?"
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Post by Treijim on Apr 16, 2008 20:05:42 GMT 9.5
Cole opened one eye to glance at Eric in the darkness. He grumbled something about rest under his breath and then sat up, seeing that Eric would want to talk, and it would be easier to answer the boy's questions instead of trying to sleep while he kept talking. He put a hand to his chin, staring tiredly at the ground while contemplating his answer.
"People are fine," Cole said. "Most people I'll never meet again in my life, so it's a waste of time getting to know them. The people who are my friends understand that sometimes I like to think." He looks up and captures Eric with his violet eyes. "Do you understand?"
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Post by Eric on Apr 17, 2008 12:28:32 GMT 9.5
Eric turned over Cole's words in his mind. He couldn't really understand it at all. He could think with people around, he was thinking now. People were so much fun he found and he didn't understand why Cole kept being so distant. He stared off into the distance, at the mountains far off and the trees and the grass. "I don't understand Cole, like all else." He sighed and brushed his hair out of his face. He'd almost forgotten his new outfit by this point and looked down at his tunic with a sigh. "But it's fun finding out."
Eric layed back and stared up at the stars. "Is a friend someone you care about? Because I think you're my friend. I've never had one before."
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Post by Treijim on Apr 28, 2008 10:12:24 GMT 9.5
Eric's words went without reply. Cole had fallen asleep. His hands were folded over his chest, which was slowly rising and settling again, and his fringe fluttered in a gentle breeze.
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The ride to Serten was longer than expected, no thanks to an overturned cart on the only stretch of good road south of Rugana, but by the next evening, the town came into sight. Though it was merely a collection of lights among many darkening homes, it proved to be much larger and busier once they entered the main street. Guards had begun to patrol as people were closing shutters and carting stock indoors.
Cole and Eric bid the tradesmen farewell and turned to observe the inn they had been taken to. It was the sort of building that seemed older and wiser than all around it. It stood one storey higher than any nearby building and overlooked a sort of paved town square area with a small stain-glass window on the third level. Cole eventually led Eric inside and moved to the man who possessed the keys for each room.
"Pardon me," Cole said to the man. "Do you have any rooms free for my companion and I tonight?"
At first the man didn't respond. He was bending over something on the desk behind the counter. Then he peered up with small glasses, staring at Cole with quite a judgemental look.
"Our cheapest is 75 coins for one night." He sniffed and turned his attention back to whatever he was doing.
Cole paused and then turned to Eric, whispering, "I can't afford that. This place is too expensive..."
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Post by Eric on Apr 29, 2008 14:41:37 GMT 9.5
Eric shrugged. "Why can't we sleep outside?" he asked and whirled around and walked back out into the slightly chilly night air. The stars were coming out, but Eric noticed there didn't seem as many of them from where he stood. He remembered vaguely someone, either his real parents or his foster ones, telling him a story about the stars being diamonds hurled into the sky. It was a great little story. "I've never told you my last name," Eric said suddenly to Cole. "It's Lirasson."
"Lir-Lirasson?" came a wheezy, weak voice from nearby. Eric jumped as he saw a man crawl out from a small, shadowed alley. He peered at the man who was about average height, but he was bent double from a cough he'd just spluttered, and Eric guessed a sore back. The man was dressed in a tattered, dirty shirt that may once have been white, but was now a mucky brown and his pants looked more like shorts. His hair was grey and filthy, but his eyes were bright blue and seemed to shine with a new hope at the sight of the boy. "Did you say your last name was Lirasson?"
"Yes," Eric replied "Eric Lirasson". He gasped in slight shock as the man suddenly pulled him into a tight hug. When he released him Eric straightened his tunic and gave a confused look. "What was that for?"
"My apologies, but it would seem... oh my there's so much to tell. I can't believe it's you. If you hadn't just said out of the blue your last name-I wouldn't have known. I can see it though, that look, it's the same look you gave me all those years ago when I showed you something new."
Eric was too confused to speak. This man was so excited to see him, but he had no clue... or did he. A faint memory came floating to him, a memory of those blue eyes looking at him while he looked at something with confusion. "I re-remember you I think."
"Excellent! You were only four last I saw you, so I doubt you have strong recollection. Wow, how old are you now? Twelve I would guess. Has it really been eight years? Well allow me to introduce myself; I am James Boren, former butler of the Larisson household and holder of your deed to the fortune and everything."
Eric looked between Cole and Mr. Boren in confusion. He looked to Cole almost pleadingly "What does he mean?"
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Post by Treijim on Apr 30, 2008 22:25:34 GMT 9.5
Cole followed Eric outside but said nothing to his suggestion. He knew that the streets were too unsafe, even in a busy town like Serten. When Eric informed Cole of his surname, he opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted. Immediately, Cole was on the defensive. He brushed his cape aside to flash his sheathed sword to the old man who emerged from nearby, but when the man embraced Eric, Cole stepped back. He listened keenly as the story was explained.
"He means that there is lots of money that belongs to you that you need to claim." He shook his head slowly. "I've heard of the Lirasson household. Everyone used to talk about who owns the money, but everyone knows now that all the Lirassons are gone."
He took Eric's arm and took him out of the old man's earshot. "Just be careful. Even if your surname is Lirasson, he could be trying to scam us. As long as we don't give him anything, he can't take anything from us, so we can play along for now." Then he turned to the butler. "Show us the deed."
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Post by Eric on May 5, 2008 1:35:08 GMT 9.5
Mr. Boren nodded, "Ah yes of course." He reached into a pocket and pulled out a yellowed piece of paper. "Here it is." Eric took it and looked it over. He couldn't read though, nor could he write. And as he realized this, Mr. Boren slapped his forehead with his hand, apparently realizing the same problem. "You can't write can you?"
Eric shook his head. "No, I can't."
"How're we going to prove you are who you say you are? There's got to be some way to identify you."
Eric looked to Cole and handed him the deed. "Can you read? Do you have ideas?"
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Post by Treijim on May 16, 2008 10:24:57 GMT 9.5
Cole took the deed and gave Mr Boren a sideway glance before reading it. Not knowing much about such formal documents, he couldn't make much of it, but he saw Eric's name here and there. It seemed legitimate enough, but he didn't know much about it. He handed it back to Eric and shrugged.
"Eric said his full name out of the blue, and clearly doesn't know about the rumours of the fortune, so he has no reason to take on that name as his own in an attempt to take what isn't his. And you said it yourself, Mr Boren. You said you recognised Eric." He looked to Eric for some affirmation. "Isn't that enough?"
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Post by Eric on May 24, 2008 14:28:30 GMT 9.5
"Logically yes. However these legal types try to find every little niche they can and exploit it. These are legal documents that need legal proof. Eric was believed dead and listed as such." The man sat down on a crate and held his head in his hands.
Eric sat beside him. "Well Cole could help. He knows it's not a lie. I wish Scott was here. He could help prove us right too."
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Post by Treijim on Jun 11, 2008 8:58:21 GMT 9.5
Cole seemed, for the most part, lost. He certainly didn't know how any of the formalities worked, and this Scott fellow just seemed like someone who was very far away now. He watched the old man carefully. He seemed mostly sincere, though there was still something about him that bothered Cole. He just couldn't figure out what that was yet.
"Shouldn't we find a place to sleep like we were going to?" he suggested to Eric. "There's no point thinking about it while we're both tired like this." He looked to Mr Boren to see if he would suggest a place they could go, but didn't ask directly.
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